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TriMet's new ticket printers may not be pretty, but they guarantee a 2-hour fare (Video)

TriMet aims to replace old-school newsprint transfersThis summer, depending on the success of a pilot program, TriMet hopes to replace the decades-old newsprint punch transfer system with more modern computer-printed tickets. The new system should simplify things for both the driver and the passengers.

The new fare machines showing up on TriMet buses look more like Cold War relics than the latest commuting technology in the iPhone age.

But if a pilot program on No. 17 and 70 buses proceeds without any serious glitches, Oregon’s largest transit agency says the austere gray printers will be spitting out tickets for all single-fare riders come summer.

The gray, toaster-size machines started showing up on buses in mid-March as part of a $1.5 million project.

Of course, if they look dated, the technology they’re replacing is downright 19th century.

Instead of being handed a flimsy, hole-punched slip for transfers by bus drivers, a rider putting cash or a ticket into the front fare box gets a more durable and legible two-hour ticket from the printer.

Drivers use a small touch screen to set the time and type of fare and then print out the tickets.

“The bus tickets match those of MAX and WES, taking the confusion out of transferring,” said TriMet spokeswoman Roberta Altstadt. “They have a foil security strip and the 2-hour tickets are good for just two hours.”

TriMet said the system will be easier for operators and fare enforcers, and should speed up the boarding process during peak commuting hours. Riders can also buy all-day passes.

“For years, most bus transfers have not matched those on the rail systems,” said Chris Tucker, director of TriMet revenue operations, “but these new printers will ensure that bus riders will get a full two-hour ticket.”

When TriMet eliminated zones and established a base two-hour ticket last fall, agency officials promised to explore ways to make sure bus tickets would be valid for the full two hours.

A full two-hour transfer wasn’t guaranteed with the confusing torn-and-punched newsprint fares, where the time varied depending on the location of a stop along a route.